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Curriculum
Our Day
While dad/mom are at work or school, their child is playing, learning, and making new friends at the CLC. Our experienced teachers and devoted teaching assistants make this a great place for children! Trained in early childhood development, staff members update their professional development at weekly staff meetings and through workshops, classes, and professional conferences. Stability and quality are CLC benchmarks and evident daily in each classroom community. CurriculumThe center strives to be a model of Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Guidelines established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children are followed. At the CLC we believe that children learn primarily through active play while exploring and interacting with their environments. That belief is based on sound research by leading theorists such as Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotski, Maria Montessori, Erick Erikson, and the acclaimed early childhood movement from Reggio Emilia, Italy. Early Learning Content StandardsSound theory is foundational to the Ohio Department of Education's (ODE) Early Learning Content Standards. Brain-compatible learning, inquiry-based, differentiated, and integrated instruction are developmentally appropriate practices focused on the whole child. Children are offered experiences that match their developing abilities as well as experiences that challenge them to progress to the next level of learning. Our preschool curriculum is based on and aligned with the Early Learning Content Standards adopted by the State Board of Education. More information can be obtained at the ODE website: www.ode.state.oh.us. Emergent LiteracyThe curriculum can best be described as "emergent literacy". While teachers have a thorough understanding of Ohio's competency-based models including language arts, math, science, social studies, art, music, and foreign language, they pay close attention to the interests of children, capitalizing upon them to build a well-rounded program that addresses all areas of learning. There is an emphasis on early literacy skills as well as scientific discovery. While content knowledge is important, here at the CLC we teach children not subjects. Our name supports our instructional practices. We are the Children's Learning Center…where children come first. Developmentally Appropriate ClassroomA developmentally appropriate classroom is like a good home, where children can learn through playing, cooking, watching, listening, acting, reading or pretend reading, and writing or pretend writing. It is a place where they can explore their environment, ask questions, and answer questions. It is a place where the teacher is like a parent--reading to the children and talking about the stories they read; writing for children and allowing them to write for different purposes; taking time with the children to explore their community on field trips; and talking about those experiences together. It is a place where children clean up after themselves, learn more about familiar and unfamiliar topics (usually called themes), and learn more about what interests them most--themselves. Most importantly, it is a place where children learn that reading provides both enjoyment and information, and they develop the desire to read and write. (Hall and Cunningham, 1997) Curriculum Protocol[top of page] |
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